Anya's Ghost

Anya's Ghost is a graphic novel about a first-generation Russian immigrant living in the United States. She struggles to fit in, embarrassed by her heritage, her body, and her lack of popularity. After accidentally falling in a well, Anya discovers the remains of a murdered girl... only the girl never left. Tied to her bones, Emily Reilly has waited for ninety years as a ghost stuck at the bottom of the well for someone to find her. A tentative relationship forms between the two girls and soon Anya finds her life improving with Emily's help and support. But things take a dark turn when Emily takes “best friends forever” a little too seriously.

I strongly encourage you to go and read this graphic novel before reading any further in this review. Go in knowing as little as possible. It's a lot more fun that way.

Anya's Ghost was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The art and text are simple, never overwhelming the reader, yet express many complex themes.

What I enjoyed most about this graphic novel is the progression of characters. You can clearly see the changes in the characters frame by frame. There is Emily who begins are an intensely charming ghost girl to a terrifying monster that will probably haunt my dreams for the rest of the year. And then there are characters like Anya and Dima who change in much subtler ways.

Another thing I enjoyed was how scary the story became. I went into this graphic novel with no idea what it was about and that made the story all the more engaging... and terrifying. It was like taking a stroll through Candyland singing la-la-la while skipping along only to stumble upon the super secret ingredient of Candyland: the souls of lost children! There's a distinct moment you hit while reading where you flip back and forth between a few pages going, “wait... what?! WHAT KIND OF STORY IS THIS!?” For me that moment was on page 152 in the third and second to last frames. Hopefully, if you're reading this you've already read the comic because I felt it had such an impact going in knowing absolutely nothing about it.

I rate this a 4 out of 5 on goodreads and a 9.5 out of 10 on my own scale. This story was sooo good! I related to all the problems Anya faces as a girl and as a student. I only take off some points because the ending seemed a little too neatly tied up. But other than that, it was great!



P.S: Thanks ever so much, Vera Brosgol, for adding a few new nightmares to my nightly repertoire. ;)